- A popular baby sleep expert faced backlash after it was revealed she had donated to Trump’s reelection campaign.
- FEC records show the Taking Cara Babies founder donated over $1,000 from 2016 to 2019.
- The mom community online has been split on whether or not they should continue to support her.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
One of the most popular parenting influencers on Instagram came under fire this week after it emerged she had donated more than $1,000 to former President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign.
The influencer, Cara Dumaplin, is a former neonatal nurse who has become something of a celebrity in the parenting world, with more than 1.3 million followers on her Instagram account, Taking Cara Babies. Good Morning America has called her a “baby whisperer,” and she has appeared in Parents and PopSugar to talk about baby sleep.
In addition to posting sleep advice and answering follower questions on Instagram, Dumaplin sells a popular series of virtual classes for parents desperate to get their new babies to sleep, charging more than $300 for one package.
This week, news of Dumaplin’s political persuasions exploded after fellow parenting blogger Jamie Grayson shared a screenshot of showing Federal Election Commission records of Dumaplin’s multiple donations to Trump’s campaign.
“You cannot take cara babies if the person you’re supporting puts them in cages. Full stop,” Grayson wrote in a caption accompanying the FEC screenshot.
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The blogger was referring to the Trump administration's strict border regulations and detention of immigrants coming from Latin America. Many of those immigrants sought asylum, but were put in detention camps and held in cages under "horrifying conditions," including children who were separated from their parents, and some who died.
Dumaplin acknowledged the donations in an emailed statement to Insider, writing, "Between 2016 and 2019, I made a series of donations (totaling $1,078) to the Trump campaign. As with many citizens, there were aspects of the Trump Administration that I agreed with and some that I disagreed with. I will continue to serve all parents by empowering them with the tools they need to help their babies sleep."
Followers and clients of Taking Cara Babies were quick to react to the revelation.
—Bex Nobody (@thebexone) January 20, 2021
—Dr. Megan (@meganroxanne) January 20, 2021
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—Devon Macy (@devon_macy) January 21, 2021
Conz Preti, content director at Motherly, added to the discussion on Twitter, writing, "Probably shocking to no one but Taking Cara Babies is full on MAGA-ist. If you are a parent looking for sleep resources hit me up, I can direct you to a million others that are not racist a----les."
—Conz Preti (@conz) January 20, 2021
Some clients said they had requested refunds for classes they had bought through Dumaplin's website.
—Kristina Edmunson (@DC_Kristina) January 20, 2021
Other major parenting influencers also weighed in, including accounts that had worked with Taking Cara Babies in the past. Big Little Feelings, a "toddler expert" account with 1.2 million followers, posted that they had "unfollowed" and sent a personal note. Dr. Christine Sterling, whose account drsterlingobgyn has 57,000 followers, said that Dumaplin had been a mentor. "I am sorry I recommended a business without checking and asking," she wrote.
The Taking Cara Babies Instagram account has not posted in several days and the company's Facebook pages appears to no longer exist.
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